Level(s) Newsletter

Ahead of the launch, we asked our colleagues Nick Dodd, Mauro Cordella, and Shane Donatello from the EU’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) for a preview of the improved framework features.

The first point they emphasised was that Level(s) will have a more user-friendly and straightforward approach to assessing building sustainability. “The new Level(s) guidance document will be more accessible, with less technical language, and divided into separate parts for each indicator. It will include step-by-step instructions on how to report a given indicator at different levels of a building project.”, said Nick.

And there is some very good news for architects: “The starting level of the framework will now help architects to 'apply design principles to building concepts, designs and construction activities for each indicator'.”, added Mauro. “This will allow Level(s) to be used qualitatively on early planning stages of a building – which was one of the big requests for improvement received from architects and designers”.

Finally, Shane made the point that “through its new “principle of equivalence” for each indicator, Level(s) will be easier to adopt at national and regional level”. This means Level(s) users will now have more flexibility in adapting default assumptions or calculations to their national context.

Level(s) will be officially launched in early autumn (including a revamped webpage on the DG ENV website) – so please keep reading the Level(s) newsletter for further insights!

Recovery from the personal and economic harm done by the Covid-19 pandemic will be a long and difficult path. The speed and extent to which the European Union and Member states have mobilised for that recovery is welcome. Especially welcome is that they have embraced the positive and powerful motivation of so many people that we must ‘ build back better’; not seek to restore the status quo ante, but to use the opportunity of major investments and incentives to spur on our vital imperatives and, most especially, to move us forward towards a zero-carbon future.

Read more by clicking the link below.

Josefina: From your experience with this tool so far, how do you see Level(s)?

Philippa: Level(s) is an escalator, a virtual ‘travellator’ on which to start and progress the journey towards better buildings. By this, we mean buildings that are better for those who occupy them, as well as have a low impact and hopefully even, one day, contribute positively to the environment.

Josefina: That is certainly what we are working for! From all your years in the property development sector, what do you see as the main motivation for this group to adopt Level(s)?

Philippa: Level(s) provides a holistic approach to the measurement, management, and assessment of real estate. It has been honed into its current form by some of the most experienced practitioners in the industry and academia. From a practical point of view, it is an agnostic framework, in that it does not draw indicators from certification tools, but rather is based on methodologies such as ISO/BS-Standards that are already widely available. It also provides a coherent methodology by which you can evaluate both a single asset and a whole portfolio, and then compare them and their progress.

Most importantly for me, investors and property owners could be motivated to adopt Level(s) because it enshrines whole life cycle thinking throughout and provides a clear pathway towards a low carbon real estate market.

Josefina: So, if I would ask you for a single sentence to convince people in your sector to adopt Level(s), what would it be?

Philippa: Level(s) allows any property owner or manager to begin the journey to a more sustainable market at whichever point of the journey they are currently at; it then guides the users to use more advanced scenarios, and deeper investigations, ensuring that their journey continues.

Josefina: Excellent, we will definitely remember to use that argument. You were also involved in the Horizon 2020 project HOUSEFUL, could you tell us about that project and how it relates to Level(s)?

Philippa: HOUSEFUL focuses on delivering a circular economy for the housing sector, aiming to develop and demonstrate an integrated systemic service with circular solutions for the housing value chain.

The HOUSEFUL project has four demo-sites in Austria and Spain. The projects that are underway will, to me, provide the technical evidence of how whole life cycle strategies and human health & wellbeing factors can be implemented across the sector. They are the embodiment of the macro-indicators which Level(s) enshrines.

Josefina: Sounds very promising, indeed. What were the key takeaways of the Level(s) project?

Philippa: The project included a pilot project over the summer of 2019 to put all those years of debating, drafting, and revising into practice! One experience worth highlighting was being in a room with over 100 senior academics to debate the technical details within Level(s) – that was an impressive coming together of some of the best minds across the industry. It was a pleasure to be a part of it.

Josefina: Last but not least...is the world ready for Level(s)?

Philippa: Not only is the world ready, but the timing is perfect. Combined with the EU Taxonomy, Level(s) – and its escalator framework – is arriving at the perfect moment.

Josefina: Thanks a lot for your time, Philippa, and your insights!

Philippa: Thank you Josefina – I am looking forward to the Level(s) launch!

It is no secret that national Green Building Councils are drivers of sustainable change and practices in EU member states. The Romania Green Building Council (RoGBC) has taken this mission one step further by incorporating the Level(s) framework in activities of their “SMARTER Finance For Families” Horizon 2020 project.

SMARTER Finance for Families seeks to implement the ambitious but truly impactful Green Homes & Green Mortgages programmes in 12 European countries*. Lead by the RoGBC and comprising another 16 partners**, the project also receives expert inputs from Belgian, Danish and Italian entities. The existing programme includes over 50 projects, including 8.500 certified (or under signed agreement to certify) housing units representing more than 1.4 Billion Euros in project value.

As part of the SMARTER project, CRISCON has analysed the bi-directional matching of three existing rating systems with the current version of Level(s) and provided guidance to deploy an alignment strategy to the common framework in the twelve countries covered by the SMARTER’s implementing partners. Working together with RoGBC, whose rating system is the reference start in most countries, CRISCON has supported an immediate workstream to bolster the alignment of their rating, which was already incorporating full LCA with narrow cut-off rules and a very wide series of ambitious sustainability criteria.

It is also noteworthy that the SMARTER consortium partners joined the EU Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance conversation through their involvement with the Energy Efficiency – Financial Institutions Group (EEFIG)

“Through the SMARTER project we need to achieve scale engaging, among others, institutional investors, large banking groups and local and national governments. Level(s) is an excellent tool that provides both an ability to run an ambitious, credible standard for green finance at the European level while allowing for flexibility to deliver the most appropriate approach through locally designed and administered certifications” explained Steven Borncamp, Project Director of SMARTER Finance for Families.

“We see Level(s) as an instrumental framework to tackle key challenges of the overall European construction sector”, added Sebastiano Cristoforetti, Managing Director at CRISCON and consortium partner in the SMARTER Project leading the Level(s) alignment. “We need to guide the EU green building market towards standardization: When it comes to building sustainability performance, it is time we speak the same language, regarding what we measure and how we measure it. These are important steps to ensure a climate-neutral Europe in 2050, with important progress already by 2030.”

The RoGBC, CRISCON and the whole SMARTER consortium look forward to the official Level(s) launch and continuing their collaboration with the programme.

*SMARTER project countries: Ireland, Poland, Czechia, Italy, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Ukraine, Georgia, Slovakia

** The SMARTER consortium is composed by: the Romanian Green Building Council; Copenhagen Centre on Energy Efficiency (Denmark); Centre for Renewable Energy Resources and Saving (Greece); CRISCON (Italy); the Czech Green Building Council; the Energy Efficiency Centre - Georgia ; the Polish Green Building Council; the European-Ukrainian Energy Agency (EUEA); People in Need (Czech Republic); Centre for Energy Efficiency EnEffect (Bulgaria); the Irish Green Building Council; Green Building Council Italia; TURKECO Construction and Energy (Turkey); Green Council (Bosnia and Herzegovina); the Slovak Green Building Council; Université Libre de Bruxelles -BATir (Belgium).

You can read the Green Homes, Green Mortgages brochure here.

For more information on the SMARTER Finance for Families project, please visit their webpage on the RoGBC website.

The Croatia Green Building Council is part of the consortium running the Life for LCA LCC Level(s) project (short: LIFE Level(s)). The project is directed towards mainstreaming sustainable buildings in Europe through greater awareness and use of the specified indicators within the framework of Level(s), a set of common European Union indicators to address life cycle environmental performance of buildings. The consortium is also made up of Green Building Council España (GBCe), Dutch GBC (DGBC), Alliance HQE-GBC, GBC Finland (FiGBC), GBC Italia, German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) and Irish GBC (IGBC).

Be sure to share your insights on the future of the built environment with the Level(s) community by using the #BuildCircular hashtag.

Q1: What will be the core of the Sustainable Product Policy Framework regarding Ecodesign?

• To widen the Ecodesign Directive beyond energy-related products so as to make the Ecodesign framework applicable to the broadest possible range of products and make it deliver on circularity
• To encourage more non-EU countries to have legislation similar to the EU’s ecodesign and energy labelling directives.
• To increase national market surveillance that verifies whether products sold in the EU follow the requirements laid out in ecodesign and energy labelling regulations.

Q2: What will the European Commission propose to drive the demand for sustainable products by public authorities?

• The creation of a Circular Economy Superintendent role in each public authority body
• Restrictions on the purchase of products made from non-sustainable materials
• Minimum mandatory green public procurement

Q3: What is the name of the initiative that the European Commission will propose to address the electrical and electronic equipment fast growing waste stream?

• Circular Electronics Initiative
• Electrics and Electronics Initiative
• Electronics Waste Initiative

Q4: The construction sector consumes a very large part of our extracted material, and this in turn gives rise to high embodied carbon emissions. How much of all extracted material is used in the construction sector?

• About 30%.
• About 40%.
• About 50%.

Q5: What is the name of the initiative that will lead to significant improvements in the building sector?

• The Renovation Wave
• The Energy Wave
• The Efficiency Wave

Q6: What will the European Commission propose to help citizens, businesses and public authorities better separate waste?

• Waste Separation Open Days across EU member states
• A Waste Disposal calendar common to all EU Member states
• Harmonise separate waste collection systems

Q7: The objective to significantly reduce total waste generation and halve the amount of residual (non-recycled) municipal waste has been set for what year?

• 2030
• 2025
• 2050

Q8: How many jobs are linked to the circular economy in the EU?

• 2 million jobs
• 3 million job
• 4 million job

Q9: What is the name of the platform that offers guidance to project promoters on circular incentives, capacity building and financial risk management?

• Platform for the Circular Economy
• European Commission Support Platform
• Circular Economy Finance Support Platform

Q10: What is the aim of the Monitoring Framework for the Circular Economy?

• To ensure no EU member state goes over their waste generation quota.
• To compare the components of materials produced through different processes and by different manufacturers.
• To evaluate a country's progress towards a circular economy by displaying all relevant indicators.

Your score:

0-4 – Hmmm, it looks like there is still a lot about the Circular Economy Action Plan for you to discover.

5-8 – Not bad – you have the Circular Economy Action Plan basics covered, but are still missing a few details.

9-10 – Good job! You really know your Circular Economy Action Plan by heart

Check you score and the answers in the document attached below.